Ions Flashcards
What does neutral charge mean?
When an atom has an equal number of protons and electrons.
What does it mean when an atom doesn’t have a neutral charge?
The atom has become an ion.
Explain what an ion is.
Ions have different numbers of protons and electrons, they either have a positive or negative charge.
What is an ion?
An ion is a molecule with an electrical charge due to a loss or gain of at least one electron.
What is a valence shell?
The valence shell is the outermost electron shell of an atom.
When is an atom stable?
When it has a full valence electron shell
When is an atom unstable?
When the valence electron shell is not stable.
What are the two main ways that atoms can get a full valence shell?
- By sharing valence electrons with another atom so they both have a full shell (covalent bond).
- Gaining or losing valence electrons and forming ionic bonds.
What is special about the last group of atoms in the periodic table?
They have a full valence shell and are stable. They don’t get involved in reactions with other atoms.
What do atoms with 4 or more valence electrons try to do?
They try to find other electrons around them to fill their valence shells.
What do atoms with less than 4 valence electrons try to do?
They choose to empty out their valence shell.
What happens to atoms that gain electrons?
They end up becoming negatively charged overall as the number of protons has remained the same.
What happens to atoms that lose electrons?
They end up positively charged overall.
What do ions tend to do with their electrons?
They will lose or gain electrons depending on what is easiest to do.
How do you interpret the charge of an ion?
If an atom loses 1 or 2 electrons it has a charge of 1- or 2-. If it gains 1 or 2 electrons it has a charge of 1+ or 2+.
